I don't have a lot to say about this book that I didn't say about the first issue, but I do like it for my seven-year-old, which got me thinking about just what it is that makes modern comics not as kid-friendly as the ones that were around when I was growing up. (And I'm not being critical of the trend--as an adult comic reader, which I gather puts me in the core audience now, I really can't be. There was always plenty of subtle/implied "adult-ish" content in comics in the old days. I recall an Iron Man book where Tony Stark is in a bathrobe in some woman's apartment in the morning, saying to himself how it was nice of her to let him sleep on her couch!)
Yes, the stories now are more violent. This is more of an issue for the younger kid, although there are some stories the older one isn't allowed either (I recall a Batman mini-series featuring a villain who went the "Buffalo Bill" route, that one was off-limits.)
Yes, there's more sexual content, although nothing explicit--and this seems to be what folks complain about most when comparing modern books to "the good old days", as in a recent Captain America where Cap and Sharon share a hotel bed, and fans write in complaining that Cap would never do such a thing.
Yes, there's more "bad language," mostly limited to "hell" and "damn" (my main problem here is why have all the New Avengers taken to "Hell is going on here?" as a full sentence--grammar still applies, people!).
Where I think the biggest difference lies, though, is in the grey areas of characterization. When I was a kid, there were good guys and bad guys, and although the bad guys could on occasion convert (or display a "heart of gold" under their evil exterior), the good guys generally stayed "good" at all times. Teammates might argue or even fight, but when the chips were down, you knew that each member could count on all the others. (Please note that I'm not being nostalgic for the simple old days, I prefer a more complex comic-book world, I'm just making a point.)
And that's also one of the main things I notice as different in the Marvel Adventures Avengers. (Side note, do the "Marvel Adventures" titles constitute a separate "universe" as well?) In this issue, the Leader tries to trick the Hulk, but it doesn't work because the Hulk trusts Spider-Man and knows that he has his best interests in mind. Now, I may not be a Hulk reader, but I do know that his history has made him very quick to mistrust--this certainty that your friends have your back would be out of character for the 616 Hulk, even back in the old days (he didn't stay in the Avengers for long, you'll recall). Here, though, there is what's really a very child-like focus on being able to trust one's friends--on having friends, which, here, Hulk trusts that he does. The possibility of a genuine team betrayal is never considered.
As for the the violence, that's also toned down quite a bit--to quote the MA Captain America, "Wolverine, I think you're forgetting our no-clawing-living-things rule." So it's made clear that even though there's fighting going on, these Avengers make a point of limiting the severity of the damage they do. Which, I suppose, isn't all new (they have always dealt heashly with team members who have killed, even accidentally) but it's new to have it so explicitly stated. (And is in direct contradiction to the reasons why Wolverine is on the 616 team in the first place.)
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
JLA: Strength in Numbers (4th TPB, 1998) [Spoilers]
Includes JLA 16-23. And I'm not sure why I'm saying "Spoilers" when I'm talking about books that are 8-10 years old, but what the hell, I'd never read them before... There are several different storylines in this volume but there's a lot of overlap, and I'm jumping around a lot but ah, well.
Cool things:
Oooh, a map of the JLA Watchtower! I love that kind of stuff!
Superman loses the blue hue somewhere in there. That's an improvement.
Less cool things:
Still not terribly fond of Zauriel. Although the scene with the nuns kicking his butt was kind of cool. :)
More of the New Gods. (I haven't gotten around to looking them up yet.) Although these specific two, Orion and Barda, seem tolerable.
Things that made me laugh:
Aquaman in polka-dot suspenders, hee!
The villains shooting their river raft because they think it's Plastic Man.
Questions:
The big one--why is Wonder Woman now Hippolyta instead of Diana? The blurb at the front of the book says "in penance for her role in [Diana's] death" but I'm pretty sure it's Diana again in the JLA books my daughter reads now. Looks like a case of the afterlife's revolving door, but I'm curious about the details.
Superman says that Plastic Man is more versatile than Elastic Man--does that have to do with the specifics of their respective powers or with imagination? I would tend to assume the latter because Plastic Man is just nuts, or should I say creative, and from what little I've seen of Elastic Man he doesn't get so much into the shapes. (And I seem to recall reading about Jimmy Olsen being a stretchy hero when I was a kid, or was that one of DC's famous Imaginary Tales?)
All right, so the JLA communicates via a telepathic link through Martian Manhunter. First of all, that's a little creepy, unless he only goes to a particular depth with it? Second, do they have a back-up communication system? In "Camelot" they lose him, which means they lose group communication. You'd think they'd pack a just-in-case walkie-talkie or something
Cool things:
Oooh, a map of the JLA Watchtower! I love that kind of stuff!
Superman loses the blue hue somewhere in there. That's an improvement.
Less cool things:
Still not terribly fond of Zauriel. Although the scene with the nuns kicking his butt was kind of cool. :)
More of the New Gods. (I haven't gotten around to looking them up yet.) Although these specific two, Orion and Barda, seem tolerable.
Things that made me laugh:
Aquaman in polka-dot suspenders, hee!
The villains shooting their river raft because they think it's Plastic Man.
Questions:
The big one--why is Wonder Woman now Hippolyta instead of Diana? The blurb at the front of the book says "in penance for her role in [Diana's] death" but I'm pretty sure it's Diana again in the JLA books my daughter reads now. Looks like a case of the afterlife's revolving door, but I'm curious about the details.
Superman says that Plastic Man is more versatile than Elastic Man--does that have to do with the specifics of their respective powers or with imagination? I would tend to assume the latter because Plastic Man is just nuts, or should I say creative, and from what little I've seen of Elastic Man he doesn't get so much into the shapes. (And I seem to recall reading about Jimmy Olsen being a stretchy hero when I was a kid, or was that one of DC's famous Imaginary Tales?)
All right, so the JLA communicates via a telepathic link through Martian Manhunter. First of all, that's a little creepy, unless he only goes to a particular depth with it? Second, do they have a back-up communication system? In "Camelot" they lose him, which means they lose group communication. You'd think they'd pack a just-in-case walkie-talkie or something
Monday, June 26, 2006
My June Comics in Brief [Spoilers]
It's comic book day, when our monthly box of joy from Lone Star arrives! Semi-reviews follow...
Captain America #19
I really haven't had a bad thing to say about this book since I started picking it up. Both the artists they use are good, although Epting is better (and is doing this story arc, apparently). I'm happy to see Union Jack and Spitfire, as I still miss the New Invaders book (despite the art there, which I expected to grow on me but it never did). The continuation of the Winter Soldier's story, parceled out in occasional pages and panels, is nicely done. I enjoyed seeing Sharon Carter (whose character is starting to grow on me) take charge of the mission, and I enjoyed her repartee with Union Jack. Overall, not as exciting as some of the past issues but a good strong read.
Fantastic Four: First Family #4
I've liked this mini-series enough, although I don't think it's as well done as the similarly-themed Avengers: World's Mightiest Heroes series was. I'm especially liking the treatment of some of the conflicts we see in the Silver Age FF books--when it was played for laughs. Reed was kind of a dick throughout much of the FF's first 100 issues or so, and there's some of that here as well, although not misogyny (that sixties-era chauvinism!) so much as a subtle condescension applied to anyone with less of an intellect. The "Father Knows Best" dynamic that you see so much in the old books doesn't work here. I'm less fond of the external conflict they've introduced--Franz. But so much of the FF origin story was tied into the Cold War that I suppose there had to be something to explain just why the FF felt the need to go into space ten years ago (or however long ago it's supposed to have been now).
Iron Man #8
You know, the sheer novelty of having this book arrive an a regular basis inclines me to think favorably of it :). The gradual falling apart of Tony Stark as Extremis affects him in ways he couldn't have anticipated--I don't think he was ever the most pleasant person to be around but he really doesn't seem to be handling the changes well. So...hopefully that's the origin of his current problems as well, he'll find some way to strip it out of his system, and we'll have back the old Iron Man we know and, well, prefer. :)
Ms. Marvel #4
I am really pleased to see Carol in her own book again. (Again? It's been, what, 25 years or so?) I'm glad they went with that costume, gives that retro feel that feeds my nostalgia (and I'm glad they didn't go with the first costume because that one went with that so-awful feathered hair-do--nostalgia can only do so much, you know). I'm enjoying the superhero PR subplot; Carol doesn't seem comfortable with the "friendly" invasion (they have copies of her keys? all the data on her phone?) and I'm guessing that it's not standard procedure (supposedly Dr. Strange and a number of other heroes use the same service and I can't imagine any of them putting up with it), only it's new to Carol and she probably isn't setting her boundaries as she should, out of her newfound desire to pump up her rep. Decent read, I'd give it a B if I was going to rate my comics, but since I'm not going to rate, I won't.
New Avengers #20
This is, really, usually a pretty average book. I read it because I like the Avengers, I like the characters, and some of them are done very well here. There's always some fun dialogue in there
and some cute bits, like Daisy Johnson thinking they wanted her to join the Avengers when all they wanted was some help on this one mission (cringe). Overall not the strongest book out there, but not (I don't think) deserving of the hate it seems to have inspired among some fans. Then again I keep finding myself thinking of this book as temporary, and I guess we won't know whether I'm right for a few years yet.
Son of M #6
This is the last in the mini-series, and it held up. Pietro is seemingly irredeemable at this point. (As is Wanda. Wonder what they'll eventually do to put both of them back into play.) The Inhumans have been portrayed consistently throughout the series--one tends to forget, reading the old books, that all of the Inhumans that we regularly see are members of the royal family. They don't usually act like it. Here they do.
And I'll be glad when the last of House of M is over.
The Thing #4
Is this the last book of this series? I know it was cancelled but I'm not sure when that takes effect. Anyway, I'll keep getting it, but I have to admit that I didn't care as much for this issue as I have some of the others, and I'm not quite sure why. It's not that they shot down the idea of Ben and Alicia getting back together--I find it really refreshing that the "other man" is (at least so far, and apparently) a genuinely nice guy. (It would be difficult to make him otherwise, since one of Alicia's strengths has always been that she is somewhat intuitive. Apart from her stepfather, that is. Oh, and her tendency to look for the good in everyone. In fact, never mind.) Alicia has never been one of my favorite characters--I've never disliked her, just never found her all that interesting (in the old days she was portrayed as rather saintly), but here she shows a bit more personality. I hope her boyfriend is a genuinely nice guy--I am guessing, though, that at some point this will change, some writer will want Ben and Alicia back together (not that there's anything wrong with that!) and do so by either killing this guy off or turning him into a jerk. I give it three years, tops.
Ultimates 2 #11
Starting to lag a bit but still enjoyable if not as compelling as most of the run has been. I'm noticing that the Hulk is grey here. I never followed the Hulk's own book, but wasn't he grey at some point when he retained Banner's intelligence? Not that you can have any real expectations based on what you recall from the main Marvel universe. That, I'm interested in seeing next issue. What happens to Thor? Less so. And at some point I imagine we'll get to see Hank Pym get his. If this was the main Marvel universe I'd expect him to do something to redeem himself, but this isn't the main Marvel universe. That's one thing I have liked a lot about this series--for the most part, you really haven't been able to predict what's going to happen. (Not that that's always a problem--since the nostalgia factor plays a fairly large part in my enjoyment of comics this is something I often find forgivable.)
Captain America #19
I really haven't had a bad thing to say about this book since I started picking it up. Both the artists they use are good, although Epting is better (and is doing this story arc, apparently). I'm happy to see Union Jack and Spitfire, as I still miss the New Invaders book (despite the art there, which I expected to grow on me but it never did). The continuation of the Winter Soldier's story, parceled out in occasional pages and panels, is nicely done. I enjoyed seeing Sharon Carter (whose character is starting to grow on me) take charge of the mission, and I enjoyed her repartee with Union Jack. Overall, not as exciting as some of the past issues but a good strong read.
Fantastic Four: First Family #4
I've liked this mini-series enough, although I don't think it's as well done as the similarly-themed Avengers: World's Mightiest Heroes series was. I'm especially liking the treatment of some of the conflicts we see in the Silver Age FF books--when it was played for laughs. Reed was kind of a dick throughout much of the FF's first 100 issues or so, and there's some of that here as well, although not misogyny (that sixties-era chauvinism!) so much as a subtle condescension applied to anyone with less of an intellect. The "Father Knows Best" dynamic that you see so much in the old books doesn't work here. I'm less fond of the external conflict they've introduced--Franz. But so much of the FF origin story was tied into the Cold War that I suppose there had to be something to explain just why the FF felt the need to go into space ten years ago (or however long ago it's supposed to have been now).
Iron Man #8
You know, the sheer novelty of having this book arrive an a regular basis inclines me to think favorably of it :). The gradual falling apart of Tony Stark as Extremis affects him in ways he couldn't have anticipated--I don't think he was ever the most pleasant person to be around but he really doesn't seem to be handling the changes well. So...hopefully that's the origin of his current problems as well, he'll find some way to strip it out of his system, and we'll have back the old Iron Man we know and, well, prefer. :)
Ms. Marvel #4
I am really pleased to see Carol in her own book again. (Again? It's been, what, 25 years or so?) I'm glad they went with that costume, gives that retro feel that feeds my nostalgia (and I'm glad they didn't go with the first costume because that one went with that so-awful feathered hair-do--nostalgia can only do so much, you know). I'm enjoying the superhero PR subplot; Carol doesn't seem comfortable with the "friendly" invasion (they have copies of her keys? all the data on her phone?) and I'm guessing that it's not standard procedure (supposedly Dr. Strange and a number of other heroes use the same service and I can't imagine any of them putting up with it), only it's new to Carol and she probably isn't setting her boundaries as she should, out of her newfound desire to pump up her rep. Decent read, I'd give it a B if I was going to rate my comics, but since I'm not going to rate, I won't.
New Avengers #20
This is, really, usually a pretty average book. I read it because I like the Avengers, I like the characters, and some of them are done very well here. There's always some fun dialogue in there
Sentry: "Everyone hear that voice in the air?
Spider-Woman: "Oh yeah."
Sentry: "You heard the Xorn?"
Spider-Woman: "We all heard it."
Sentry: "OK, just checking."
and some cute bits, like Daisy Johnson thinking they wanted her to join the Avengers when all they wanted was some help on this one mission (cringe). Overall not the strongest book out there, but not (I don't think) deserving of the hate it seems to have inspired among some fans. Then again I keep finding myself thinking of this book as temporary, and I guess we won't know whether I'm right for a few years yet.
Son of M #6
This is the last in the mini-series, and it held up. Pietro is seemingly irredeemable at this point. (As is Wanda. Wonder what they'll eventually do to put both of them back into play.) The Inhumans have been portrayed consistently throughout the series--one tends to forget, reading the old books, that all of the Inhumans that we regularly see are members of the royal family. They don't usually act like it. Here they do.
And I'll be glad when the last of House of M is over.
The Thing #4
Is this the last book of this series? I know it was cancelled but I'm not sure when that takes effect. Anyway, I'll keep getting it, but I have to admit that I didn't care as much for this issue as I have some of the others, and I'm not quite sure why. It's not that they shot down the idea of Ben and Alicia getting back together--I find it really refreshing that the "other man" is (at least so far, and apparently) a genuinely nice guy. (It would be difficult to make him otherwise, since one of Alicia's strengths has always been that she is somewhat intuitive. Apart from her stepfather, that is. Oh, and her tendency to look for the good in everyone. In fact, never mind.) Alicia has never been one of my favorite characters--I've never disliked her, just never found her all that interesting (in the old days she was portrayed as rather saintly), but here she shows a bit more personality. I hope her boyfriend is a genuinely nice guy--I am guessing, though, that at some point this will change, some writer will want Ben and Alicia back together (not that there's anything wrong with that!) and do so by either killing this guy off or turning him into a jerk. I give it three years, tops.
Ultimates 2 #11
Starting to lag a bit but still enjoyable if not as compelling as most of the run has been. I'm noticing that the Hulk is grey here. I never followed the Hulk's own book, but wasn't he grey at some point when he retained Banner's intelligence? Not that you can have any real expectations based on what you recall from the main Marvel universe. That, I'm interested in seeing next issue. What happens to Thor? Less so. And at some point I imagine we'll get to see Hank Pym get his. If this was the main Marvel universe I'd expect him to do something to redeem himself, but this isn't the main Marvel universe. That's one thing I have liked a lot about this series--for the most part, you really haven't been able to predict what's going to happen. (Not that that's always a problem--since the nostalgia factor plays a fairly large part in my enjoyment of comics this is something I often find forgivable.)
JLA: American Dreams (2nd TPB) [Spoilers]
Includes issues 5-9 from 1997. Well, I'm working my way through these. This one has about three different main storylines (although there's some overlap), most of which are fairly easy for a non-fan to follow. There is, again, a not-in-this-reality story, which I'm not usually that fond of (didn't care for the alternate-future tale in Rock of Ages at all) but this one, apparently an entirely imaginary one, was pretty good. Apart from the outfit Wonder Woman wore in her "imaginary tale":
It's a sort of "Phantom Girl meets Mr. Frederick" thing, and strikes me as remarkably impractical for either archaeological work or kicking butt.
Cool things
The general interaction between the younger/less experienced heroes and the old hands, both the social and the heat-of-battle exchanges. Particularly this panel:
It's a sort of "Phantom Girl meets Mr. Frederick" thing, and strikes me as remarkably impractical for either archaeological work or kicking butt.
Cool things
The general interaction between the younger/less experienced heroes and the old hands, both the social and the heat-of-battle exchanges. Particularly this panel:
I love the guilty look on Flash's face! And he's been heroing for years, hasn't he? Although I gather that becoming the main Flash is somewhat new, he's not inexperienced. You'd think that that might make a difference in how he relates to the others--as opposed to Green Lantern, who IIRC hadn't had his powers for that long at this point. (It also occurs to me that playing any sort of game requiring hand-eye coordination with the Flash is going to get old pretty fast.)
Green Arrow. Particularly his struggles trying to get Ollie's trick arrows to work!
Things to question
Again, Superman is blue; in the context of this book this seems to be a new thing for him.
Zauriel, the angel--is he part of some already-existing DC...world? mythology?...that I should be aware of, or is he not really worth researching?
Oh yes, and I've figured out how to put pictures into my entries. I think. :)
Sunday, June 25, 2006
JLA: Rock of Ages (3rd TPB, 1997) [Spoilers]
So I ordered a few (!) of the JLA trade paperbacks (the 11-year-old insists that they are "graphic novels"--does that term apply to compilations like these, or only to comics-in-book-form that comprise a single unified storyline?) and they are trickling in. The first one won't be here for a while, so I'm talking about the first one I read. It seems to be all part of the same story arc, although I gather that's not the case with all of these books.
In all honesty I have to say that if I had picked this up as my one and only attempted introduction to the JLA, I probably wouldn't have picked up another, because it isn't a very good starting point. (Then again it is #3, including issues 10-15) I assume that #1 will be better in that respect?) For one thing, who are these "New Gods" who are guesting in the book? I'm not even remotely familiar with them; I even asked my brother, who was much more of a DC reader than I was when we were kids, and he didn't know either. So there's that, but that sort of thing need not be a deal-breaker. The alternate-future thing was also less than compelling for someone who isn't particularly familiar with the existing continuity, but again, likely not an issue for most of the audience.
Cool things:
Plastic Man! I just get a kick out of Plastic Man. I don't know why. All the other stretchy heroes seem to make a point of being so serious, it's neat to see someone who appreciates and embraces the potential goofiness of his abilities.
Green Lantern arguing with the bystander and Superman pulling him away. I guess it would be tempting, though not particularly productive, and a natural impulse to defend oneself in that situation.
Less cool things:
Metron seems like he'd be really annoying to have around. He is certainly annoying to read.
Questions:
Why is Superman blue? (Granted that this is an improvement over the mullet he had in the GL TPB I just read, but there's got to be a reason.)
In all honesty I have to say that if I had picked this up as my one and only attempted introduction to the JLA, I probably wouldn't have picked up another, because it isn't a very good starting point. (Then again it is #3, including issues 10-15) I assume that #1 will be better in that respect?) For one thing, who are these "New Gods" who are guesting in the book? I'm not even remotely familiar with them; I even asked my brother, who was much more of a DC reader than I was when we were kids, and he didn't know either. So there's that, but that sort of thing need not be a deal-breaker. The alternate-future thing was also less than compelling for someone who isn't particularly familiar with the existing continuity, but again, likely not an issue for most of the audience.
Cool things:
Plastic Man! I just get a kick out of Plastic Man. I don't know why. All the other stretchy heroes seem to make a point of being so serious, it's neat to see someone who appreciates and embraces the potential goofiness of his abilities.
Green Lantern arguing with the bystander and Superman pulling him away. I guess it would be tempting, though not particularly productive, and a natural impulse to defend oneself in that situation.
Less cool things:
Metron seems like he'd be really annoying to have around. He is certainly annoying to read.
Questions:
Why is Superman blue? (Granted that this is an improvement over the mullet he had in the GL TPB I just read, but there's got to be a reason.)
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Not-a-Review: Green Lantern: "Emerald Twilight" and "New Dawn"
This is written from not-quite-but-nearly a position of total ignorance. All I know about the history of Green Lantern is what I've happened to glean from the internets, and that was mainly just enough for me to decide to read some. (I think it's mainly the concept of there being so many Green Lanterns, like a whole Corps-full, that sold it for me.)
So now I know why Hal Jordan (the GL I read about on occasion as a kid) is no longer the Green Lantern as in the only one. And I guess I know the origin of the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern? This does not explain the John Stewart Green Lantern (although I've only seen him in the animated series I gather he also exists in the main universe) or the Guy Gardner Green Lantern, although I guess that will come in time as I read more. These books are apparently from 1994 so I'm sure that a whole lot has changed since then but it's a sort of a start.
This seems to work as an introduction to the current state of things, although I don't really know enough about it to be sure of that. :)
Random thoughts:
The costume the new GL changes to? Awful, definitely a 90s costume. The mask is okay, actually, but the boots and fingerless gloves, eep!
Hal Jordan's new look? Even worse. Epaulets, weren't those big in the 80s?
The art is decent overall.
The quality of paper used in the book is disappointing. (Yeah, a quibble, but I enjoy the tactile aspect of reading so I notice these things.)
It's a very bad idea to be a friend of a Green Lantern. Or to live in his home town. Best just to avoid them.
So now I know why Hal Jordan (the GL I read about on occasion as a kid) is no longer the Green Lantern as in the only one. And I guess I know the origin of the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern? This does not explain the John Stewart Green Lantern (although I've only seen him in the animated series I gather he also exists in the main universe) or the Guy Gardner Green Lantern, although I guess that will come in time as I read more. These books are apparently from 1994 so I'm sure that a whole lot has changed since then but it's a sort of a start.
This seems to work as an introduction to the current state of things, although I don't really know enough about it to be sure of that. :)
Random thoughts:
The costume the new GL changes to? Awful, definitely a 90s costume. The mask is okay, actually, but the boots and fingerless gloves, eep!
Hal Jordan's new look? Even worse. Epaulets, weren't those big in the 80s?
The art is decent overall.
The quality of paper used in the book is disappointing. (Yeah, a quibble, but I enjoy the tactile aspect of reading so I notice these things.)
It's a very bad idea to be a friend of a Green Lantern. Or to live in his home town. Best just to avoid them.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Decisions
Yeah okay, so the Blog World has assimilated me and I am setting out to learn the DC universe.
The eleven-year-old already gets JLA sporadically, we'll make that less sporadically. Do we like JSA? Yeah, probably, but it's not in the current order form.
I've got a few TPBs coming, JLA and Green Lantern. That, of course, doesn't necessarily put me in the middle of the current DC universe, but that's all right.
We'll skip Batman and Superman because that's just too many comics.
So we'll try the Green Lantern book(s). I always liked the Flash as a kid, so we'll try that. And there's an Atom series, apparently it's not the same Atom, so we'll see whether we keep getting that one.
I considered Green Arrow but when I clicked on the cover pic in the solicit, there he was in a loincloth in (apparently) a jungle. We'll wait until that arc is done. Never liked jungle adventures. And it's possible I don't like GA unless he's combined with Black Canary. So even then, we'll see.
And I never liked Aquaman, so no Aquaman.
Hawkgirl, yes.
Wonder Woman, yes, although with reservations (OTOH the girls like the old Titans book with Donna Troy so maybe a keeper).
I've heard good things about Birds of Prey but I'm not sure it's all that kid-friendly, and I'm afraid it'd be too likely to suck me into the black hole of Batman.
Supergirl, no.
Supergirl and the Legion? Maybe.
And then we figure out what's worth getting.
I need to do some web surfing, there's got to be sites out there that will tell me what (of what I remember from the DC books I read as a kid) no longer applies. I've heard that there's just the one Earth now. I'm guessing that Krypto and the other Super-Animals are gone. And what about the Bizarros? Damn it, this is too much like work...
The eleven-year-old already gets JLA sporadically, we'll make that less sporadically. Do we like JSA? Yeah, probably, but it's not in the current order form.
I've got a few TPBs coming, JLA and Green Lantern. That, of course, doesn't necessarily put me in the middle of the current DC universe, but that's all right.
We'll skip Batman and Superman because that's just too many comics.
So we'll try the Green Lantern book(s). I always liked the Flash as a kid, so we'll try that. And there's an Atom series, apparently it's not the same Atom, so we'll see whether we keep getting that one.
I considered Green Arrow but when I clicked on the cover pic in the solicit, there he was in a loincloth in (apparently) a jungle. We'll wait until that arc is done. Never liked jungle adventures. And it's possible I don't like GA unless he's combined with Black Canary. So even then, we'll see.
And I never liked Aquaman, so no Aquaman.
Hawkgirl, yes.
Wonder Woman, yes, although with reservations (OTOH the girls like the old Titans book with Donna Troy so maybe a keeper).
I've heard good things about Birds of Prey but I'm not sure it's all that kid-friendly, and I'm afraid it'd be too likely to suck me into the black hole of Batman.
Supergirl, no.
Supergirl and the Legion? Maybe.
And then we figure out what's worth getting.
I need to do some web surfing, there's got to be sites out there that will tell me what (of what I remember from the DC books I read as a kid) no longer applies. I've heard that there's just the one Earth now. I'm guessing that Krypto and the other Super-Animals are gone. And what about the Bizarros? Damn it, this is too much like work...
Friday, June 16, 2006
Girls and heroines
When my girls play with the Marvel Legends action figures, they fight over the female characters. (It was hell when all we had was the Black Widow.) When they talk about their favorite comic book characters (and apparently having a favorite is very important, and it's almost as important that you and your sister not have the same favorite), they always choose the women. Always.
I don't remember this from when I was a kid. The earliest "favorite character" I remember was the Human Torch, and he could fly and do all sorts of neat flame tricks (I loved Stan and Jack but the laws of physics weren't necessarily their strongest point). The Invisible Girl? She had to do all the cleaning. The others patronized her. And eventually she was a mom as well, which took her entirely out of the realm of characters I, as a young girl, would have identified with.
But my girls? They automatically gravitate toward the female characters. (Not, naturally, the Invisible Woman. She's still a mom, even if she does have more interesting powers these days.) There are more to choose from now, of course, particularly in the X-Men. And they get to do more interesting things. Maybe if there had been more interesting female characters when I was younger I would have focused more on them, but as it was I wasn't desperate enough for female role models to turn to Sue Storm or the Wasp, who were both pretty silly back then. (Seriously. I've been looking through some of the old Avengers--on DVD-ROM, whee!--and I lost track of the times Jan went on about breaking a nail or whatever.) And the male characters were so overprotective of them--Hank of Jan, Quicksilver of the Scarlet Witch, and the whole rest of the FF of Sue--which I found annoying even then; why would you wnat someone on your team that you didn't trust to do their job?
So I asked the 11-year-old today what she based it on when she said someone was her favorite. She generalized somewhat, saying that she usually prefers the Marvel heroes because they have more personality (granted that she has read more Marvel, including some of my old Claremont/Cockrum X-Men books, so I don't think her judgment there is necessarily informed). When I mentioned that she also seems to prefer the female characters, she didn't seem to think that that was a factor (other than the characters she likes happening to be women), and said "...I like Wolverine..." (So does her sister. Not sure what the deal is there. They also like Colossus, but only because of how he relates to Kitty.) It's obvious that she and her sister generally prefer the women, but it's apparently not a conscious choice. And there's more operating there--when they talk about the Teen Titans, the 11-year-old almost-a-teenager likes the deep, gothy Raven, while the 7-year-old prefers the lighter, more innocent Starfire.
I don't remember this from when I was a kid. The earliest "favorite character" I remember was the Human Torch, and he could fly and do all sorts of neat flame tricks (I loved Stan and Jack but the laws of physics weren't necessarily their strongest point). The Invisible Girl? She had to do all the cleaning. The others patronized her. And eventually she was a mom as well, which took her entirely out of the realm of characters I, as a young girl, would have identified with.
But my girls? They automatically gravitate toward the female characters. (Not, naturally, the Invisible Woman. She's still a mom, even if she does have more interesting powers these days.) There are more to choose from now, of course, particularly in the X-Men. And they get to do more interesting things. Maybe if there had been more interesting female characters when I was younger I would have focused more on them, but as it was I wasn't desperate enough for female role models to turn to Sue Storm or the Wasp, who were both pretty silly back then. (Seriously. I've been looking through some of the old Avengers--on DVD-ROM, whee!--and I lost track of the times Jan went on about breaking a nail or whatever.) And the male characters were so overprotective of them--Hank of Jan, Quicksilver of the Scarlet Witch, and the whole rest of the FF of Sue--which I found annoying even then; why would you wnat someone on your team that you didn't trust to do their job?
So I asked the 11-year-old today what she based it on when she said someone was her favorite. She generalized somewhat, saying that she usually prefers the Marvel heroes because they have more personality (granted that she has read more Marvel, including some of my old Claremont/Cockrum X-Men books, so I don't think her judgment there is necessarily informed). When I mentioned that she also seems to prefer the female characters, she didn't seem to think that that was a factor (other than the characters she likes happening to be women), and said "...I like Wolverine..." (So does her sister. Not sure what the deal is there. They also like Colossus, but only because of how he relates to Kitty.) It's obvious that she and her sister generally prefer the women, but it's apparently not a conscious choice. And there's more operating there--when they talk about the Teen Titans, the 11-year-old almost-a-teenager likes the deep, gothy Raven, while the 7-year-old prefers the lighter, more innocent Starfire.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Am I a Marvel blogger?
I've been reading some discussion of Marvel- and DC-focused blogs in recent posts on various blogs (gotta love the meta!), and although I am primarily a Marvel reader (and therefore I suppose this is a "Marvel blog" although there's not really enough of it to generalize) I'm not opposed to picking up some DC books. (Well, apart from just how damn much comics cost these days, which does have something to do with my not seeking out new books too actively.) I just don't know enough about them. Didn't read them regularly as a kid, so they lack that "nostalgia buzz" for me, and I don't know the history. (Apart from the Legion of Superheroes. That book I knew. Of course it was relatively easy to be only a LSH reader because most of their stories took place outside of the rest of DC continuity. Or did, as far as I could tell.) And what I did know is no longer valid, is it? Didn't they get rid of Earth-1 and Earth-2 and so forth a few years back?
In general, though, I wouldn't know where to start--which characters would interest me, which wouldn't. Superman always struck me as a bit dull. (Well, he'd have to be. A maverick Superman? You don't want that.) Batman...well, I have a confession. Not long after I started picking up comics again (3-4 years ago?) I got into Batman. I picked up all his books. And damn, does Batman have books! Spider-Man and Wolverine are pikers by comparison. But I read Batman and Batman and Batman, each book with its own slightly (or not so slightly) different take on the character. Some I liked a lot, others not so much. And then I stopped, because the character stopped holding my interest, and I didn't have enough of a tie to the mythology to keep me there.
So I suppose the thing to do if I were to expand my superhero horizons would be to pick up some team books; my older daughter already gets the JLA once in a while, so there's a start. (And some people are giving me the idea that I might enjoy Green Lantern, which is pretty weird because my recollection of him from my childhood is as about as scintillating as dry toast.) Or is this just a bad time to start into DC? Didn't they just do another restart of some sort?
Because from reading some of the commentary on the aforementioned subject of Marvel and DC blogs (like this one at The Absorbascon) I don't seem like a typical Marvel reader. Possibly I'm getting this impression because most of the folks posting here are DC fans and are more familiar with the good points of the company they read, but you know, if there are also good DC books that I'd like, I'd like to know about them. A point made in the comments there--that DC fans tend to be verbally oriented and Marvel fans visually (I don't get this impression from the DC books my kids read, but they don't read that many of them)--interesting to me because while I notice when the art is bad, I pay more attention to the dialogue and characterization. Also, I don't read the X-books (fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me...and that was 15 years ago and I still won't read an X-book!), and I think if you eliminate that section of the Marvel fan base you find a different reader. (Not that I'm saying there's anything non-subjectively wrong with the X-books. My daughter loves them. She is, you will recall, eleven. She finds books like Captain America tedious, and I think it's likely that she is representative of a segment of the readership.)
In general, though, I wouldn't know where to start--which characters would interest me, which wouldn't. Superman always struck me as a bit dull. (Well, he'd have to be. A maverick Superman? You don't want that.) Batman...well, I have a confession. Not long after I started picking up comics again (3-4 years ago?) I got into Batman. I picked up all his books. And damn, does Batman have books! Spider-Man and Wolverine are pikers by comparison. But I read Batman and Batman and Batman, each book with its own slightly (or not so slightly) different take on the character. Some I liked a lot, others not so much. And then I stopped, because the character stopped holding my interest, and I didn't have enough of a tie to the mythology to keep me there.
So I suppose the thing to do if I were to expand my superhero horizons would be to pick up some team books; my older daughter already gets the JLA once in a while, so there's a start. (And some people are giving me the idea that I might enjoy Green Lantern, which is pretty weird because my recollection of him from my childhood is as about as scintillating as dry toast.) Or is this just a bad time to start into DC? Didn't they just do another restart of some sort?
Because from reading some of the commentary on the aforementioned subject of Marvel and DC blogs (like this one at The Absorbascon) I don't seem like a typical Marvel reader. Possibly I'm getting this impression because most of the folks posting here are DC fans and are more familiar with the good points of the company they read, but you know, if there are also good DC books that I'd like, I'd like to know about them. A point made in the comments there--that DC fans tend to be verbally oriented and Marvel fans visually (I don't get this impression from the DC books my kids read, but they don't read that many of them)--interesting to me because while I notice when the art is bad, I pay more attention to the dialogue and characterization. Also, I don't read the X-books (fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me...and that was 15 years ago and I still won't read an X-book!), and I think if you eliminate that section of the Marvel fan base you find a different reader. (Not that I'm saying there's anything non-subjectively wrong with the X-books. My daughter loves them. She is, you will recall, eleven. She finds books like Captain America tedious, and I think it's likely that she is representative of a segment of the readership.)
New X-Men comment
I asked the 11-year-old today what she liked about the New X-Men book (I look at hers but I haven't followed the X-men at all since...early 90s? so I don't really know what the heck is going on over there). I had assumed she liked it because the book focuses on the younger characters, and I guess that's a factor, but she also commented on how the characters are similar to the original characters (she cited X-23, and also compared that young man whose touch can destroy flesh to Rogue--the lack of human contact thing). Interesting to me that she finds something that she considers derivative to be, while not necessarily a selling point, not a bad thing either.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Comic book bodies
The folks at Four Color Comics point out a contest for photoshopping superheroes into fine art. Cute idea, right? I was entertained, to the point where I let my poor old dial-up connection chug away until the whole thing loaded.
First thing I noticed was damn! but this makes it obvious how disproportionately comic-book people (particularly women) are drawn. (Not that that's anything new.) Three of the entries feature adaptations of Bougeaureau's Birth of Venus (but no Botticelli, somehow)--Dark Phoenix, Supergirl,and Wonder Woman. Granted that Bougeaureau's Venus isn't the most svelte of canvas beauties, but she wasn't posing for Rubens either. In other words, a perfectly nice, attractive female body.
However, slap a costume on her and suddenly she's dumpy. With the costume, you expect the comic-book proportions, and without them the figure appears thick-waisted, short-legged, heavy-thighed; the creator of the Supergirl pic added some extra in the breast area to compensate for the small-chestedness of Bougeaurou's model, although the smaller-breasted Wonder Woman looks just fine--surprisingly it's not the lack of top-heaviness that you notice, it's the general imbalance.
First thing I noticed was damn! but this makes it obvious how disproportionately comic-book people (particularly women) are drawn. (Not that that's anything new.) Three of the entries feature adaptations of Bougeaureau's Birth of Venus (but no Botticelli, somehow)--Dark Phoenix, Supergirl,and Wonder Woman. Granted that Bougeaureau's Venus isn't the most svelte of canvas beauties, but she wasn't posing for Rubens either. In other words, a perfectly nice, attractive female body.
However, slap a costume on her and suddenly she's dumpy. With the costume, you expect the comic-book proportions, and without them the figure appears thick-waisted, short-legged, heavy-thighed; the creator of the Supergirl pic added some extra in the breast area to compensate for the small-chestedness of Bougeaurou's model, although the smaller-breasted Wonder Woman looks just fine--surprisingly it's not the lack of top-heaviness that you notice, it's the general imbalance.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Review: The Adventures of Captain America, 1-4 (1991) [Spoilers]
This one is of absolutely no interest to my kids (philistines that they are), and I don't plan to write solely about kid books here in any case. I picked this up because someone on the Captain America message board recommended it as a good story about Cap's WWII years, and since I dug the old Invaders book when I was a kid, and since I'd been enjoying the flashback scenes in the recent Winter Soldier storyline, I went ahead and got it. (Is it just me, or are old comics less pricey relative to new than they were 15 or so years ago?)
Overall I liked this series. It's a detailed retelling of Captain America's origin, mostly true to the original tale. The art is good, or at least it's the kind of art I like in a comic. A lot happens within the narrative as a whole, and it holds together pretty well; I thought it started to drag a bit in the fourth book, but it still held my interest.
And here's where the spoilers start, and I do mean spoilers. I'm giving details here. It's an old book, it takes work to get it, no one who hasn't read it is going to go after it on my say-so. :)
The first issue expands greatly on just how Steve Rogers got into the program that made him into Captain America. Here it's a lengthy process involving extensive training (and several other candidates) in addition to the process we all know about; a mentor (James Fletcher, "American Eagle") and a potential love interest (Lt. Cindy Glass) are intruduced, and we see Cap develop gradually into a confident hero--we see his own contribution, and we see that the Super-Soldier serum didn't do it all--much of what makes him Captain America was in him all along.
(This is, I think, different from the original tale, where the idea seemed to be that this could have happened to anyone if they were in the right place at the right time with the right motivation.) Because of all the trouble they are having at the project, Cap is sent to Camp Lehigh where it's felt he will be safe.
As you can guess, this does not sit well with him and pretty soon he is going after a ring of profiteers who have been stealing supplies.
The second issue finds Cap continuing with his secret missions and hoping to conceal them from the folks back at the project. This, of course, is not going to happen,
and he is soon discovered, given his costume and the name Captain America, and sent on a series of not-so-secret missions. Issue 2 also introduces Bucky to Cap; when they meet, Bucky is trying to explain to a group of soldiers the reason why he doesn't have the cigarettes he had promised them.
Cap rescues him, and although Bucky thinks that Steve isn't the brightest light on the tree, he likes him and they become friends. This issue also introduces some of the minor villains of the piece, three biologically-engineered Nazis called Blitzkrieg (who possesses lightning powers, naturally), the Sauressprutze (who wields a tank of flesh-eating gas), and the Zahnmorder (a sadistic torture expert), and they are memorable. They quickly and efficiently make their way through the remaining scientists on the Super-Soldier project. They have also, with the help of the mysterious Agent X, captured Glass and Fletcher.
The latter they take, the former is left for Cap to rescue in the next issue.
In that third issue, Cap does indeed rescue Lt. Glass, and they set about heading to Europe to rescue Fletcher as well. While gathering supplies at Camp Lehigh, they are discovered by Bucky, who learns in this way that Steve Rogers is Captain America, and who manages to get himself into the mission.
Memorable in this issue: first, the interaction between the villains Blitzkrieg and the Zahnmorder, who despite their obvious evil seem to share a real camaraderie, based perhaps on their common sadism;
and second, the scene where Cindy Glass turns on Bucky and we learn that she has in fact been working against the project from within all along.
Oh, and Fletcher dies, throwing himself from a window rather than tell what he knows under torture, and falling at the feet of Captain America, who is on his way to the rescue. And the Red Skull and Captain America finally meet, and Cap and Bucky are captured.
Issue 4 is where the suspension of disbelief starts to fail a bit. I'll just go over the plot and you'll see why. Cindy Glass is revealed by the Red Skull to be Agent X, although she is clearly not thrilled to have Cap know about this. Cap and Bucky are taken to a concentration camp. A concentration camp equipped with an arena, where the Jewish prisoners will be forced to watch Cap and the Red Skull fight. In his cell, Cap sits silently and passively, while in the next cell over Bucky tries to talk him out of his funk--Fletcher's death and Cindy's betrayal have hit him pretty hard.
Finally he is taken to the arena, where he and the Skull--clad in black medieval armor--fight, not only with shields but with weapons such as maces, whips and swords. While Hitler watches.
In the meantime, Bucky has escaped, and Cindy Glass has sneaked down to the prison area to give him the master keys, showing that although as Agent X she is responsible for the deaths of the scientists, she's not all bad--Steve's inherent goodness has had that effect on her.
While Bucky frees the prisoner, Cindy redeems herself by attempting to help Cap in the fight, only to be shot and killed immediately. Bucky then comes to the rescue, in a tank he has liberated from the camp's armory,
and he and Cap ride off, escaping successfully. The Red Skull is thisclose to killing himself, but thinks better of it. Cap and Bucky and at least some of the escaped prisoners fly to London, and all is well. Apart from Cap's anguish over Cindy. Soon Bucky joins him in costume, and the mini-series is over.
So yes, overall I quite liked this series. There were a few things that I didn't care for, but on the whole I'd recommend it.
I did find myself comparing this book's version of how Bucky became Cap's partner to the one in the Winter Soldier storyline. In this version, Bucky wheedles Cap into taking him along on a mission (and not, at that moment, into making him his partner) by offering to get him to where he needs to go (and, incidentally, mentioning all the people he knows in the media who might be interested in what's going on there). In this book Bucky is the guy on base who can get anything:
In this book the "dirty little tricks" are less dirty than those played by Brubaker's Bucky, but it's still a step in that direction--the idea that while Cap as icon has to be held to a higher standard of behavior, that doesn't mean that the things he can't do don't still need to be done. And yes, Bucky here also knows how to handle a gun (or a tank) when necessary.
Actually, the Bucky here reminds me a bit of the streetwise kids you see in old 1940s movies, ala the Bowery Boys, so his depiction as confident, smooth-talking, wisecracking, and full of bravado is not inaccurate for the period, and in that I think this book does a good job of capturing the feeling of the Golden Age books.
Overall I liked this series. It's a detailed retelling of Captain America's origin, mostly true to the original tale. The art is good, or at least it's the kind of art I like in a comic. A lot happens within the narrative as a whole, and it holds together pretty well; I thought it started to drag a bit in the fourth book, but it still held my interest.
And here's where the spoilers start, and I do mean spoilers. I'm giving details here. It's an old book, it takes work to get it, no one who hasn't read it is going to go after it on my say-so. :)
The first issue expands greatly on just how Steve Rogers got into the program that made him into Captain America. Here it's a lengthy process involving extensive training (and several other candidates) in addition to the process we all know about; a mentor (James Fletcher, "American Eagle") and a potential love interest (Lt. Cindy Glass) are intruduced, and we see Cap develop gradually into a confident hero--we see his own contribution, and we see that the Super-Soldier serum didn't do it all--much of what makes him Captain America was in him all along.
(This is, I think, different from the original tale, where the idea seemed to be that this could have happened to anyone if they were in the right place at the right time with the right motivation.) Because of all the trouble they are having at the project, Cap is sent to Camp Lehigh where it's felt he will be safe.
As you can guess, this does not sit well with him and pretty soon he is going after a ring of profiteers who have been stealing supplies.
The second issue finds Cap continuing with his secret missions and hoping to conceal them from the folks back at the project. This, of course, is not going to happen,
and he is soon discovered, given his costume and the name Captain America, and sent on a series of not-so-secret missions. Issue 2 also introduces Bucky to Cap; when they meet, Bucky is trying to explain to a group of soldiers the reason why he doesn't have the cigarettes he had promised them.
Cap rescues him, and although Bucky thinks that Steve isn't the brightest light on the tree, he likes him and they become friends. This issue also introduces some of the minor villains of the piece, three biologically-engineered Nazis called Blitzkrieg (who possesses lightning powers, naturally), the Sauressprutze (who wields a tank of flesh-eating gas), and the Zahnmorder (a sadistic torture expert), and they are memorable. They quickly and efficiently make their way through the remaining scientists on the Super-Soldier project. They have also, with the help of the mysterious Agent X, captured Glass and Fletcher.
The latter they take, the former is left for Cap to rescue in the next issue.
In that third issue, Cap does indeed rescue Lt. Glass, and they set about heading to Europe to rescue Fletcher as well. While gathering supplies at Camp Lehigh, they are discovered by Bucky, who learns in this way that Steve Rogers is Captain America, and who manages to get himself into the mission.
Memorable in this issue: first, the interaction between the villains Blitzkrieg and the Zahnmorder, who despite their obvious evil seem to share a real camaraderie, based perhaps on their common sadism;
and second, the scene where Cindy Glass turns on Bucky and we learn that she has in fact been working against the project from within all along.
Oh, and Fletcher dies, throwing himself from a window rather than tell what he knows under torture, and falling at the feet of Captain America, who is on his way to the rescue. And the Red Skull and Captain America finally meet, and Cap and Bucky are captured.
Issue 4 is where the suspension of disbelief starts to fail a bit. I'll just go over the plot and you'll see why. Cindy Glass is revealed by the Red Skull to be Agent X, although she is clearly not thrilled to have Cap know about this. Cap and Bucky are taken to a concentration camp. A concentration camp equipped with an arena, where the Jewish prisoners will be forced to watch Cap and the Red Skull fight. In his cell, Cap sits silently and passively, while in the next cell over Bucky tries to talk him out of his funk--Fletcher's death and Cindy's betrayal have hit him pretty hard.
Finally he is taken to the arena, where he and the Skull--clad in black medieval armor--fight, not only with shields but with weapons such as maces, whips and swords. While Hitler watches.
In the meantime, Bucky has escaped, and Cindy Glass has sneaked down to the prison area to give him the master keys, showing that although as Agent X she is responsible for the deaths of the scientists, she's not all bad--Steve's inherent goodness has had that effect on her.
While Bucky frees the prisoner, Cindy redeems herself by attempting to help Cap in the fight, only to be shot and killed immediately. Bucky then comes to the rescue, in a tank he has liberated from the camp's armory,
and he and Cap ride off, escaping successfully. The Red Skull is thisclose to killing himself, but thinks better of it. Cap and Bucky and at least some of the escaped prisoners fly to London, and all is well. Apart from Cap's anguish over Cindy. Soon Bucky joins him in costume, and the mini-series is over.
So yes, overall I quite liked this series. There were a few things that I didn't care for, but on the whole I'd recommend it.
I did find myself comparing this book's version of how Bucky became Cap's partner to the one in the Winter Soldier storyline. In this version, Bucky wheedles Cap into taking him along on a mission (and not, at that moment, into making him his partner) by offering to get him to where he needs to go (and, incidentally, mentioning all the people he knows in the media who might be interested in what's going on there). In this book Bucky is the guy on base who can get anything:
"Now that I know he's Cap, I realize he needs me more than ever. It's like this--I can do the dirty little tricks he's not allowed to. I can get the kind of information that goes beyond regular military methods. I may look young, but I'm a very worldly guy."
In this book the "dirty little tricks" are less dirty than those played by Brubaker's Bucky, but it's still a step in that direction--the idea that while Cap as icon has to be held to a higher standard of behavior, that doesn't mean that the things he can't do don't still need to be done. And yes, Bucky here also knows how to handle a gun (or a tank) when necessary.
Actually, the Bucky here reminds me a bit of the streetwise kids you see in old 1940s movies, ala the Bowery Boys, so his depiction as confident, smooth-talking, wisecracking, and full of bravado is not inaccurate for the period, and in that I think this book does a good job of capturing the feeling of the Golden Age books.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Review: Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #1 (Spoilers, probably)
(This is my seven-year-old's book. She seems to like it but is not enthralled with it at this point; I think she is probably a bit young for it still, but I'll continue to get it for her unless she specifically asks me not to, which is unlikely.)
I've bought the DC kid-level books for the girls before--they used to watch the Justice League and Teen Titans series on Cartoon Network, so it was Teen Titans Go and Justice League...what was that one called? The old one? Doesn't matter. They had different Titans faves (the older likes Raven, the younger Starfire) but among the League they both liked Hawkgirl so occasional arguments ensued.
But that's beside the point here. I haven't seen the other books in the Marvel Adventures series, but if the art is like this in all of them, I like it. Clear, detailed, bright, and the panel order generally makes sense. Pretty much the same style as any other Marvel book (unlike the DC kid books, which--understandably--were drawn in the style of the cartoons they were based on).
The story is fairly direct, pretty much a straighforward and fast-moving telling of the main tale with no side-stories, which makes it easier for a beginning reader to follow. The plot is simple: the Avengers are called in by the military or whoever it is who pays their salaries in this universe, and told that they will no longer be needed because someone has invented an army of Ultron robots. Almost immediately, Something Goes Wrong and the robots attack. The Avengers assemble, kick some ass (I suppose that should be "butt" in this book), and all is well.
As an adult I found the book not all that thrilling. For my daughter, though, I think it's just fine. The book moves along quickly and there's little to distract from the main storyline. The battle is impressive without being frightening. The story is self-contained, and I hope that future issues as well keep to the one-shot stories. The characters (this book's version of the Avengers includes Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Storm, Wolverine, Spider-man, and Giant-Girl) have personalities (toned-down versions of those they display in the 616-universe books).
So, overall, I'd give this book a recommendation for kids.
Now, my older daughter read it and she liked it but she prefers New Avengers. And I can understand why. When I was her age (11) one of the things I liked about comics was the heroes' off-duty moments; I remember an issue of Fantastic Four where they were playing a casual game of baseball and Mr. Fantastic stretched out his arm to catch an otherwise-home run because it was their only ball. I loved that stuff. And, so far in this book, there hasn't been any. (I do expect there will be in future issues. ) Another thing that seems a little cartoony is that the characters don't tend to call each other by their real names--again, this probably has to do with the situation, they were on duty--but I know that one of the things I found distracting in the DC kids' books was things like the kids in Teen Titans Go always using their codenames--they could be in an entirely social situation, having a birthday party, and they were still "Beast Boy" and "Robin" and so forth to each other. That's only a quibble, though. Unless the Marvel Adventures Avengers do likewise. Then it will be a complaint. :)
I've bought the DC kid-level books for the girls before--they used to watch the Justice League and Teen Titans series on Cartoon Network, so it was Teen Titans Go and Justice League...what was that one called? The old one? Doesn't matter. They had different Titans faves (the older likes Raven, the younger Starfire) but among the League they both liked Hawkgirl so occasional arguments ensued.
But that's beside the point here. I haven't seen the other books in the Marvel Adventures series, but if the art is like this in all of them, I like it. Clear, detailed, bright, and the panel order generally makes sense. Pretty much the same style as any other Marvel book (unlike the DC kid books, which--understandably--were drawn in the style of the cartoons they were based on).
The story is fairly direct, pretty much a straighforward and fast-moving telling of the main tale with no side-stories, which makes it easier for a beginning reader to follow. The plot is simple: the Avengers are called in by the military or whoever it is who pays their salaries in this universe, and told that they will no longer be needed because someone has invented an army of Ultron robots. Almost immediately, Something Goes Wrong and the robots attack. The Avengers assemble, kick some ass (I suppose that should be "butt" in this book), and all is well.
As an adult I found the book not all that thrilling. For my daughter, though, I think it's just fine. The book moves along quickly and there's little to distract from the main storyline. The battle is impressive without being frightening. The story is self-contained, and I hope that future issues as well keep to the one-shot stories. The characters (this book's version of the Avengers includes Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Storm, Wolverine, Spider-man, and Giant-Girl) have personalities (toned-down versions of those they display in the 616-universe books).
So, overall, I'd give this book a recommendation for kids.
Now, my older daughter read it and she liked it but she prefers New Avengers. And I can understand why. When I was her age (11) one of the things I liked about comics was the heroes' off-duty moments; I remember an issue of Fantastic Four where they were playing a casual game of baseball and Mr. Fantastic stretched out his arm to catch an otherwise-home run because it was their only ball. I loved that stuff. And, so far in this book, there hasn't been any. (I do expect there will be in future issues. ) Another thing that seems a little cartoony is that the characters don't tend to call each other by their real names--again, this probably has to do with the situation, they were on duty--but I know that one of the things I found distracting in the DC kids' books was things like the kids in Teen Titans Go always using their codenames--they could be in an entirely social situation, having a birthday party, and they were still "Beast Boy" and "Robin" and so forth to each other. That's only a quibble, though. Unless the Marvel Adventures Avengers do likewise. Then it will be a complaint. :)
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